


A Very Traditional Christmas

by closetcellist



Category: Battle for London in the Air (Roleplay)
Genre: Christmas horror, Dark Hallmark, F/M, Hallmark AU, Modern AU, but silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28051680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/closetcellist/pseuds/closetcellist
Summary: For the LITA-group Secret Santa: The only Hallmark AU Dr Jhandir could possibly be involved in
Relationships: Dr Anil Jhandir & Celine Abinall
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	A Very Traditional Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sakuuya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakuuya/gifts).



“Let me show you the true meaning of the holidays,” Dr. Jhandir said, low and predatory, a glint of violence in his eyes.

Celine shivered deliciously. “Yes,” she breathed. How could she say anything else?

****

Celine could hardly believe how she had gotten here--she was meant to be spending the holidays in the City, and by “spending the holidays” she would have meant “working on her next collection, applying for artist fellowships, and attending holiday-themed gallery openings to network and secure her next show.” Instead, her sister had insisted she visit her and Andrew, in Holly Wood. Yes, not “Hollywood,” but a small, quaint town named for the large forest with an abundance of holly that surrounded the town on three sides. For the fanciful, that might have seemed a perfect way to spend the winter holiday season, but as much as Celine loved her sister, it was incredibly hard not to roll her eyes at the whole situation.

Cordelia invited her over for a pre-holiday meal about a week before Christmas to introduce her to some of her and Andrew’s closer friends, one of which happened to be a very handsome gentleman named Dr Jhandir. Celine always had liked doctors, as a profession if not always as individuals, and Cordelia had promised, with a somewhat rueful tone in her voice, that Celine was sure to adore this one. “He’s just about as morbid as you are,” were her exact words, she recalled.

****

Celine wasn’t disappointed, of course not, but she was a bit surprised by the apron and gloves Dr Jhandir pulled on, and the set then offered to her. Somewhere in her mind, she had been expecting dark robes. Something of that surprise must have shown on her face, as Dr Jhandir offered a lopsided smile. “Practicalities, I’m afraid,” he said. “Much easier to clean or dispose of. Needs must.”

Celine nodded, putting on her pair of gloves and the apron. It was a bit long on her, but that just meant more coverage. “Right,” she said, once she was ready. “Now what? How do we find a sacrifice?”   
  
“Oh, not to worry about that. Or perhaps I should apologize if you were looking forward to hunting. I have one prepared,” Dr Jhandir said.

****

“Cordelia tells me you paint,” Dr Jhandir said, his tone polite, if a bit stiff. He was obviously not the most social man, Celine decided, but she trusted her sister’s instincts when it came to personality matches, and she was determined to have  _ some _ fun this Yuletide.

“Yes, that’s right,” Celine said. “I’ve had several shows, though nothing too large yet. I’m afraid my subject matter isn’t always...broadly appealing.”

Dr Jhandir raised a well-sculpted eyebrow at that. “Oh? And what is your subject matter?”

“The human body,” Celine said. “Or rather, the insides of it, generally. How far it can be stretched or taken apart. I’ve been compared to Francis Bacon occasionally, especially his work from the 40s and 50s, and certainly he’s been something of an influence. Occasionally someone will reference Hans Bellmer, usually more in terms of the response than the abstract nature of the grotesque. And I will, begrudgingly, admit to a bit of Vesalius as a very,  _ very _ basic influence.

“But I’ve always hoped people would see the more modern aspects and influences of my work. Sometimes I think I’ve got a bit more in common with Steve Dillon than more classical artists. Though in more sentiment than style. There’s something so beautiful about the horrible and violent pushed to its absolute extreme, don’t you think?”

Now, the politeness of Dr Jhandir’s expression had changed to real interest, and a hunger that felt both titillating and wonderfully familiar. “Yes,” he murmured. “Please, tell me more.”

****

They were deep in the woods, but Dr Jhandir somehow managed to drive along an almost invisible, barely wide-enough path, until they broke through into a circular clearing with what could only be considered a stone altar in the center. As Dr Jhandir turned off the car and the light from its headlamps disappeared to be replaced only by the light of the stars, Celine realized he hadn’t explained where the sacrifice was or would be coming from. ‘“Stay sexy and don’t get murdered,” indeed,’ she thought to herself with a sigh as a frisson of fear went through her.

But the good doctor just popped the trunk, from which there came a dazed, quiet groan, and got out to manage the foldaway wheelchair that had, apparently, been stacked on top of the body. “You can take a look, if you like,” Dr Jhandir said, his voice quiet but clear in the silence of the wooded night. “But stay inside the circle. The woods are dangerous, especially tonight.”

“How does it stay so...perfect?” Celine asked, slipping out of the car to step on perfectly trimmed grass, without a stray leaf to blemish it.

“I do come out regularly and maintain the trail and clearing,” Dr Jhandir said, before grunting quietly as he eased and pulled the body from the trunk and into the chair. “But that’s more for the trail. The clearing...well. It is just meant to be this way.”

****

There was a moment after dinner, while the four of them were enjoying nightcaps and were pleasantly full, warm, and flush with the dinner’s wine, that Celine almost thought Dr Jhandir was going to kiss her.

He had leaned in so close, if she’d turned her head, she probably could have caught him in one, but he was speaking, quiet, the words brushing her ear like a feather. “How much do you know about the early solstice traditions?” he’d asked, like it was a secret.

Andrew had said something quiet to Cordelia, about them, Celine was sure, and laughed good-naturedly, but she didn’t care. “Not enough,” she’d said.

“Then I have something to show you.”

****

The man looked so striking on the altar, stripped bare under the moonlight, paralyzed, Dr Jhandir had assured her, but alive and aware, as the creatures preferred. She wished she’d brought her sketchbook.

“Perhaps next year,” Dr Jhandir murmured, and Celine realized she’d spoken aloud. “Though I’d recommend caution depicting anything too far into the ceremony. Things tend to get...difficult to perceive. And not everyone can appreciate this kind of mystery.”

“The creatures you mentioned,” Celine asked, looking around the clearing, focused on the trees that formed the border. “What are they?” She didn’t think she saw anything, but the moon shone down from on high, disbursing its light mere inches beyond the tree line. She thought she saw shadows moving, but it could have been her imagination. 

“To be completely honest,” Dr Jhandir said, “I’m not entirely sure. I believe they are some form of nature spirit, as foolish as I might feel saying that any other time or place. But they do seem confined to this forest. To the holly trees, most of the time.”

He pulled out a wickedly sharp blade from his apron belt that glinted in the cold light. “Now. Let’s begin.”

****

It was stunning.

Celine knew that blood was hot, but it boiled in her veins now, and seemed to hiss and steam as it dripped from the man being flayed open in front of her onto the stone and grass below. She ached to touch it. Maybe to taste it. She thought she understood why the forest creatures, whatever they were, demanded such a thing.

They were there now, for certain--shadows circling in the trees around them, faster and faster, a zoetrope of growing horror, and her heart was pounding in her chest, in her ears. When they finally burst forth, breaking the barrier just as Dr Jhandir cracked the ribcage open, she couldn’t contain her gasp. They moved like ink, shadow and shape, mist and fur and they brought with them a distinctly animal smell, a barn--’a manger,’ Celine thought, with a distant, hysterical giggle--and Dr Jhandir said something unintelligible to her, pulling free the man’s heart and she thought it still beat in his hand before he threw it to them, into the gathered mass of black.

An animal cry went up and Dr Jhandir quickly stepped over to take Celine’s arm, drawing her firmly, quickly, back from the altar and the creatures as she continued to stare at them, transfixed. “They’ll feast now,” he murmured quietly. “It’s fascinating to watch, but best not to be too close in case they get...confused.”

Celine smiled beatifically. She knew exactly where she would be next holiday season.


End file.
